The One
by Lynn Loring
Summary: Rachel welcomes an old friend back into her life. Or is she? Trent and Rachel must work together to get the answer to the question: Is she the one?
1. Chapter 1 An Unexpected Visitor

All Characters and Worlds Building Belong to Kim Harrison.

I was standing at the kitchen island in my church when I got the call from Newt on my scrying mirror asking me to summon her into my kitchen. I did not want to do that, but I knew she would just come over without warning at a different time if I didn't do what she wanted now. The church was empty at the moment except for me, Bis, and Jumoke and his new wife. Jumoke was in charge of the church's garden now, and he had taken a wife, another pixie girl who had the misfortune of being born with brown hair. Her family was so happy that she found Jumoke, who was a very well off pixie with his own garden, that they were taking turns helping the couple tend and protect the church's garden.

Jenks lived over at Trent's compound with his 4 remaining children, Belle, and her family; Ivy was living with Nina at Nina's condo; and I too lived at Trent's compound. Even though we were just using the church as an office for our runner business now, I kept a supply of spelling materials and a change of clothes there for times when I needed some time alone. Bis split his time between the church, the basilica with his Dad, and Trent's compound.

Trent had done some renovations to his personal apartments, giving me my own dressing room, closet, and bathroom attached to his private sitting room and bedroom. Trent did not want me to have a separate bedroom, and neither did I, so we shared his room. Now it was our room.

When I first moved my clothes into my new closet, it was funny to see my pathetic amount of outfits dwarfed by the huge closet. Little by little that has been changing as Trent has bought me more and more clothes, and has even hired a personal stylist to help me spruce up my look. If I hadn't already realized my preference for slutty party girl clothes and leather needed to be toned down, pictures in the papers of Trent and me at social events and charity parties showing me in cringe worthy outfit choices confirmed that I needed a change. I still wore my leathers for runs, as they still offered the most protection from scrapes and bruises. And not so secretly, Trent loved me in leather! He often asked me to wear them at home when we had the apartments to ourselves!

Today I was stirring some curses that I was doing for the first time, and I wanted to do these by myself in case I couldn't make them work. I had my own spelling kitchen in Trent's compound, but sometimes I wanted to be alone to spell.

I told Bis to go visit his father, and sent a text to Trent letting him know Newt was coming over to the church. I knew he would probably show up just to check up on me if he wasn't too busy with other things. I'd had to learn to let him know when anything out of the ordinary occurred, so he would do the same for me. It was part of learning to share my life fully with another person. Trent worried about me as much as I worried about him.

Because by together, I mean we have been married for the past 3 months. It was still a shock to me. Trent and I had gotten 'together' on a trip to Paris, and Trent had made an honest woman of me two days later. We had both been caught up in the passion of the moment, and were also both trying to keep each other out of the grasping clutches of the other's ex.

Trent was also extra worried about me because I was 3 months pregnant. It was the first demon birth in 5000 years, and also the only demon-elf birth ever recorded. Trent thought there had been other such hybrid births, but there were no records. It wasn't supposed to be possible, but when Trent's father had messed with my genetic make-up he had added some elf genes to my DNA, which could be why it happened. Or it could be because we were the first demon-elf pairing in 2000 years that both had their genetic damage repaired before adolescence. There were lots of theories. The bottom line was that I was almost 3 months pregnant, because like in a soap opera, I got pregnant in the first week after we were married. Since we both believed it wasn't a possibility, we hadn't taken any precautions. And, we had been giving it a lot of chances to happen! We were on our honeymoon after all!

Newt was the only demon who could come over from the Ever After without a summoning. So when she said summon her she meant just call her on the scrying mirror and formally invite her to visit.

"Rachel, calling Newt! Newt, I would be honored to have you visit me in my kitchen!" I called her while holding my scrying mirror. She was also the only demon who knew I was pregnant, and she had agreed to voluntarily spell herself to 'forget it' after every visit so she wouldn't tell anyone else. So it was a surprise to Newt every time she visited that I was pregnant. And at 3 months, the pregnancy was just beginning to show on my lanky frame.

Newt misted over and sat down at the big antique farm table. "Rachel, how are you my dear? Thank you for inviting me to visit you! Are we having a party? Do you have scones? You look like you have been eating a lot of scones, my dear. Did you swallow a melon? Oh...are you pregnant? Did I forget something again? Who is the father, Dali? I know it's not Al, because he knows I would kill him. Or, is it your elf? I understand how you could get carried away with your elf, elves are so good at sex. Is your elf good? I guess he must be. Now are you going to kill him?"

"No, of course not." I told her for the umpteenth time. I didn't know why she always asked me about killing Trent. She never elaborated, and I didn't want her to dwell on it.

"He's my baby daddy, and I love him. Besides, if I have a baby elf, I will need him to help me take care of him!"

"Of course, of course! Just wondering if you are done with him yet." Newt asked in a creepy stalkerish way.

"Newt, I will never be done with him, ever. Leave him alone. Don't forget, he is my elf!" I told her, exasperated.

"What did you want, Newt?" I asked her.

"Oh, yes, I have a present for you. I guess it can be a baby shower gift as I missed your shower. Or did I go?" Newt asked me.

"Yes, I mean no, you couldn't go, you were... Busy!" I didn't want to tell her she wasn't going to be invited; she'd be the last person I'd invite. No use making the crazy demon mad!

"You didn't have to get me anything, really!" I told her, worried about what she was planning to give me. A crazy soul in a jar, a dead ex-boyfriend, Ever After dust?

"Oh yes, that. I was going to give her to Al, but I was sure you'd not like that, because she's really part of your family. Please take care of her, she's your responsibility now. You can have two familiars now. Bye Rachel!" As Newt misted away, I heard a thump in the sanctuary and I rushed in to see a pile of silk with a petite foot sticking out of one side. What? The pile of silk that I guessed was a person didn't move. I cautiously walked over to it, and started pulling the silk pile up gently. It was a woman, a small, fragile, Elven woman. I looked again, and my eyes went wide and I dropped the silk and hurriedly backed up. It couldn't be, but it was, it was Ceri!

"Ceri?" I whispered as I gently picked up the woman and sat her on the couch. She opened her eyes, but there was no recognition in them. Her face was blank, and very pale. She was painfully thin, but other than that she looked OK. "Ceri?" I said again, a little louder. "Do you know where you are?" I felt like asking, Do you know who you are?

She did not respond, and her gaze remained blank. Then she curled up into a ball on the couch and shut her eyes. She was clearly traumatized. Where had she been for the last 6 months? Whose body had we buried 6 months ago when KuSoks the psychotic demon had left a Ceri look alike dead in Trent's office? It had been the reason Trent had gone voluntarily to the Ever After to work for KuSoks. KuSoks had still held Trent's daughter Lucy at the time, and he would have done anything to save her. Trent and I had worked together to kill KuSoks, and Trent and Lucy were OK. But Ceri had been killed by KuSoks, or so he told us. And the psychotic demon had left her broken and lifeless body in Trent's office to find.

Just then I received a ping on my phone indicating a new text. It was from Trent. 'I just got your text. Are u ok? Did Newt drop in? Is she still there? I'll be there in 10 minutes.'

I texted back to Trent: She came and left. I'm good. She left me a present. It's not urgent, so don't rush but I could use your advice.

I hoped he wouldn't rush over here, as the immediate crisis of Newt's visit was over. I was going to have to break the news about Ceri gently, though, both to him and especially to Quen, Ceri's partner. Quen was Ray's real Dad, not Trent. But everyone thought Trent was Ray's Dad.

The whole idea of Trent pretending to be Ray's real dad never made sense to me, and now it was going to be even weirder. Maybe they had decided to do it so Trent's protection as the Elven leader, or Sa'han, would extend to Ray as well as Lucy. Maybe it was just an elf thing. Maybe the elves all wanted to live a communal life. I doubted that Ellasbeth, Trent's ex-fiancé and Lucy's real mother, would have agreed to it if she had come back into Trent's life as she wanted. She was Trent's crazy ex that I had protected him from by marrying him. She was a vindictive, bitter woman who had grown up so spoiled that losing Trent had unhinged her. I still didn't trust her, but Trent kept forgiving her for each nasty thing she did, to keep her in Lucy's life. Ceri would have put an end to Ellasbeth's interference. Ceri had been a princess in her old life, and she never lost the haughty arrogance and belief that she was to be obeyed in all things that her royal status had given her. And everyone listened to her and usually obeyed her. Except me. I was the only person who could ever tell her no with impunity. And as I had rescued her from death after she had been a demon familiar for a thousand years, she actually listened to me.

I suspected that Ceri would put an end to Ellasbeth's interference in our lives, if she ever recovered. Oh Ceri! My heart was aching for Ceri, for Trent, and mostly for Quen.

I picked Ceri up, she was so light it wasn't even a strain, and put her in my old bedroom to sleep for now. We were going to have to take her back to the compound with us, to have her checked over by Trent's doctors, but first I had to break the news to Trent. Trent had loved Ceri, and they shared a public life together for a time, after Trent's engagement was broken and before Ceri's supposed death in the Ever After at KuSoks hands. I had loved Trent even then, but had thought there was no way we could ever be together so I had never let anyone know about my feelings, except Ceri. She had guessed.

I loved Ceri, but even now her return made me uneasy as anyone who wasn't blind could see that Ceri was the perfect partner for Trent on paper. She had loved Quen, her baby's father, but would have probably agreed to marry Trent to keep up the appearance of him as a happy daddy and husband, although she would never have shared his bed. A stab of jealousy went through me, which I quickly shoved away. I felt ashamed to have such thoughts. I'm not quite as sure of Trent's love for me as I thought, I realized.

But before worrying about the future with Ceri in our lives, we had to make sure there would be a future for her. Her well being had to be everyone's first priority. I sat down at the kitchen table and stared into my coffee as I waited for Trent.

But I needed Jenks, too. Or maybe I just needed some of his wise old man crap to tell me everything was going to be OK.

And just like that, Jenks flew in the house through the pixie hole in the kitchen screen. It was funny to see him wearing a red scarf tied to his arm in his own garden, but this was Jumoke's garden now, and Jenks was a visitor. He was also the landlord, but a visitor too.

"Jenks, how did you get here? Did you come with Trent? Is he here?" I demanded.

"The cookie maker is parking the car. He'll be right here. We got your last text, and it didn't seem like there was any immediate danger, so we didn't rush..." Said Jenks, suddenly cut off by Trent's loud voice coming from the sanctuary.

"Rachel!" Trent almost shouted. "Are you OK? Why in Tinks blasted hell did you let Newt come over before I could be here with you? You have to start thinking before you act! You've got responsibilities now!"

My anger boiled up, but knowing the blow I was about to deal Trent, it fizzled out before I opened my mouth. "Do you think I could stop Newt from coming if she wanted?" I asked him, mildly. "I just wanted to get her visit over. I'm sorry, you're right, I wasn't thinking. I won't do it again."

Trent's anger seemed to dissipate because of my agreement with him. He came into the kitchen, looked me up and down and then walked over and took me in his arms and kissed me lightly on the lips. "No, I'm sorry. I should have gotten over here sooner. And I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know you are totally able to take care of things, but I worry when you deal with Newt. She's so unpredictable." And he kissed me again, less gentle, and with more heat.

When Jenks made a gagging sound, Trent drew away. "Well, what did she bring you? Some burnt amber tainted cookies, a surface demon in a jar?"

"Trent, can you sit down at the table? Please? I need to sit down and I want you to sit next to me." I asked him, trying not to sound too upset.

"You're not ok, are you? What did she do?" Trent asked worriedly.

"Well she showed a creepy stalkerish interest in you, so please don't let your guard down when you are near her, ever." I said, seriously.

Trent smiled.

"Seriously, she's crazy and she may forget she can't touch you because you are an emancipated familiar. Please humor me on this, I don't trust her!" I told Trent.

"You're adorable when you are jealous!" He said.

I punched his shoulder lightly. "Take me seriously. Please."

"OK, I will keep my guard up if you promise you will never see her alone again, if you are in a position to avoid it. Pinky swear?"

We twisted our pinkies together, like we were still in Trent's father's Make A Wish camp, and then kissed to seal the deal, or really just because we both loved to kiss each other. And this time we lingered on the kiss.

"Pleeaassse!" said Jenks. "Can't you too think about anything else? What did Newt give you?"

I didn't know how to soften the blow to Trent, so I blurted it out.

"A person! She left me a person! A very traumatized person who hasn't spoken at all. And she looks exactly like Ceri! I'm so sorry Trent. But I think it may be Ceri. Don't ask me how. Newt just dropped her on the floor of the sanctuary and left without any explanation!"

Trent had blanched at Ceri's name. Now he asked with a mixture of dread, excitement, hope and fear, "Where is she?"

"In my bed, asleep, I think. She looked so tired. And completely blank. Could it really be Ceri? I.." Trent had jumped up from the table and rushed in to see Ceri before I could finish speaking.

I rushed to follow him.

"Oh, Ceri! Can it be you? Are you really alive? Is such a miracle possible?" He said in a loud whisper, looking up at me with such anguish in his eyes that I felt the tears start to slide down my own face. I remembered then that Trent felt responsible for Ceri's death and that he held a deep sense of guilt inside himself, that he kept buried, but was always there, nagging at his happiness. If she wasn't dead, he would be able to come to terms with that guilt, and let it go. I ached for his self absolution, and prayed it really was Ceri.

I put my arms around him and buried my head into his shoulder. "Oh, Trent, I love you, it wasn't your fault. You wouldn't have ever done anything to hurt Ceri, Quen knows that, I know that, hell even Ellasbeth knows that. Please, please believe me!" I begged him, squeezing him tighter and lifting my head to look into his eyes.

The look in his eyes was so hopeful, so honest, so raw; it broke my heart.

"Can it be her, Rachel?" He said in a soft voice, just a whisper really. I didn't know what to say, but I couldn't take the hope away from him, so I said, "It really looks like her!"

But we both knew disguise charms could be very powerfully made, and neither one of us wanted to see Quen destroyed by a false hope.

"Let's get Vivian here to look at her to see if she can see an active disguise charm. We'll take her to one of my off site clinics until we can make sure it's really her. The doctors can treat her and we can hire the best psychologists to work with her." He led me out of the room and shut the door softly. I saw the look of determination light up his face as he took charge of Ceri's care.

"Vivian, the leader of the Coven of Ethical Standards, how will you get her here? I'd think she's going to be too busy..."

Trent looked at me and smiled a big sincere grin. "She owes you for saving San Francisco and her but. Plus you are her new best friend, so you'll have to convince her!"

I frowned. "I think she likes you, Trent. Not me. You should talk to her."

He laughed, and the lightness in his voice lifted my heart. "You are so funny when you're jealous!" And then he hugged me hard, lifted me off my feet and kissed me with such passion and joy that I stopped breathing. Oh God, please let this be Ceri, and make her be ok. I thought, knowing that lifting the burden of Ceri's death from Trent would make me just as happy as having her back.

Trent was on his phone seconds later, arranging for Ceri's transfer to one of his off the books clinics. He had several clinics open in the Cincinnati area, paid for out of his private funds, or by insurance, I was never quite sure how that worked. And 30 minutes later I heard the sound of helicopter blades over the church. It put down right in the street, and people in lab coats rushed into the church, bundled Ceri into a stretcher and took her into the helicopter. Trent gave me a look, and I said, "Go with her, you need to make sure she gets settled in. Call me as soon as you know anything!" But he just shook his head and said, "She has known you the longest. You need to be with her too. Let's go. Jenks will take care of closing the church. I'll have someone come over here and get both of our cars and bring them home. Come on!"

I didn't know how to say no to him, I really never had, so I followed him into the helicopter, which then took off and headed out over the Hollows and into the country.

"The big question is, should we tell Quen, and what should we tell Quen?" Trent asked directly into my ear, to be hear over the noise of the helicopter.

"I don't want to tell him, but I think we have to. He'd never forgive us if he thought we'd held back information from him." I told him, thoughtfully. I hated to see Quen's heart break if it turned out not to be Ceri, but if it was, he'd want to be with her every minute he could. "I think you should go pick him up in the helicopter and bring him to the clinic. I can stay at her bedside until you get back. And you can stay on your phone with your doctors the entire trip, in case they need an immediate decision from you."

Trent ran his hand through his hair, the only sign of his agitation. " OK, good idea. I need to tell him in person. It's going to be a horrendous shock. Jonathan can watch the girls for us."


	2. Chapter 2 Hospital

Chapter 2 Hospital

The helicopter sat down 30 minutes later in the back parking lot of a small, squat, nondescript office building in the center of a run down office park on the outskirts of Independence, Kentucky. As soon as it landed, the back door of the building swung open and a team of 6 people ran into the parking lot with a gurney and medical bags ready. Ceri's transfer was completed in less than a minute, and she was rushed right into the building and into a large hospital sized elevator. Trent and I hurried along with the team, and the elevator started a downward decent as soon as the doors were closed. We went down several floors and the elevator opened into a pristine hospital emergency room, which was bustling with activity, all seeming to be readying themselves for Ceri's arrival. They transferred her into an examination room, and Trent and I were led into an adjacent waiting room, with all the comforts of home. Trent went out into the corridor to speak to his doctors, and after about 20 minutes he returned.

"According to my lead physician, Ceri is stable, and she actually looks to be in pretty good health, other than her weight. She will need to undergo numerous tests over the next few days, but today and tonight they are just going to let her sleep under close monitoring. You can go in and sit with her now. I'm off to get Quen." He kissed me somewhat distractedly, and turned to rush out the door. He stopped then, as if he forgot something, and turned around and strode back to me and pulled me into a long, deep kiss, with his arms wrapped around me so tight I could hardly breathe. Then he turned and hurried out of the room without another word.

All right, he's distracted, I thought as a doctor came in and led me into Ceri's room. Ceri looked like she was sleeping, her eyes closed and her fair translucent hair fanned out on the pillow. I reached out to take her hand, but then thought better of it.

"Please take her hand, Ms. Kalamack, it may give her some comfort, if she can feel it. We just don't know for sure yet if she's in a trance caused by a spell or by some organic issue. I think your touch can only help." Ceri's doctor told me, and then hurried out of her room.

I reached for my friend's hand and then held it between both of my hands and started to silently cry. I had missed her so much. She had helped me so many times, offered her support and friendship, never questioned my loyalty or ever thought less of me for being a demon. She had been such a comfort to me during some of the lowest moments of my life. And when she had named her baby after me, it had made me feel so accepted, so loved. I had been suppressing my grief over her death for the last 6 months because I knew Quen's and Trent's grief was so much rawer, and I had needed to stay strong for them. But my heart had broken a little when Ceri died, and it was a crack that hadn't healed. I wanted this person to be the real Ceri so bad that it was a physical pain.

My tears slowly dried up and I laid my head on our joined hands and closed my eyes, and prayed. Please god, make Ceri whole again, and if this isn't our Ceri, let us find out soon, before all of our hearts are broken all over again.

Ceri was still asleep when the door to her room opened so fast and with such force one of the hinges broke. Quen strode in with a look of anguish on his face that broke my heart. Trent followed him, with a similar gate. It was easy to see their resemblance in the way they walked almost in step. Quen had practically raised Trent after first his mother and then his father had died when he was in his early teens. Although Trent had been molded into the future Elven leader by his father, Trent had learned a lot about honor and love from Quen in the years after his father's death. But it had taken finding Lucy and falling in love for the first time to make him follow Quen's lead and start to behave honorably.

He had always loved deeply, but he had hidden his feelings so well that no one thought he actually had any. I remembered when Quen had been so sick that everyone was sure he would die. Trent had fallen apart. It was the first time I had seen the caring person underneath his cool businessman facade. And he had reacted badly, taking his anguish and fear out on me. I should have hated him for his cruelty, but I didn't. I never had.

"Ceri!" Quen said in a loud whisper. "Is it really you? Oh my love, have you come back to me?" He turned his eyes to me with a question in them that I couldn't answer. And knowing that, he turned away, his expression so hopeful, and so distraught, that it brought tears to my eyes, again. I stood up and gave him a quick hug, and then stepped away to let him sit in the chair near her bed. He sat down slowly, took her hand, and bowed his head over it. In all the years I had known him, I'd rarely seen him show even the slightest emotion. It was overwhelming to watch him succumb to his feelings. A thought niggled in the back of my head about whether we'd done the right thing telling him about Ceri before we had confirmed her identity.

Trent put his hards on Quen's shoulders and gave them a squeeze. Then he walked over to me and held out his arms and I went silently into them. Seeing Quen in such anguish, I thanked God again that I had found someone that loved me deeply and unapologetically, and that I loved just as much. Trent was still clearly upset, but he cared more about the pain I had experienced sitting alone with Ceri, than with his own pain. How could I have missed this part of the man when I used to hate him? He cared deeply and passionately for those he loved. I raised my eyes to his, and the love I saw there for me and for Quen made me speechless. I hugged him tight, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

Trent led me out of the door, so we could give Quen some privacy, and he could talk to Ceri's doctors. There was no change in her condition, and they didn't plan to start any treatments or tests until the next day, so they suggested we go home and return after the tests were complete. Trent went in to talk to Quen, and then came out and took my hands and led me to the elevator. "Quen is going to stay here with Ceri, so I think we should go home. You look very tired and I know I am. Let's get some rest and then we can talk about our next steps." Trent said, sounding less hopeful than he had earlier. "You need to keep rested, the baby is taking a lot out of you."

I didn't say anything, but I did give him a sideways glance. He and I disagreed about how much extra rest I needed, but I wasn't going to argue with him while he was in such an emotional state. I'd just store my annoyance up for a future discussion.

We knew the baby was a boy, and that he had the markers for both demon and elf DNA. We had no idea how that was going to effect his development, so I was being monitored, as well as poked and prodded, constantly. So much blood had been drawn in the last few months that I felt like a pin cushion. I didn't like the constant tests, but I understood how unique our son was, so I usually just gritted my teeth and went along with it. Sometimes, though, it really ticked me off to have my life changed so dramatically, and I had a tendency to take it out on Trent. Our arguments were invariably followed by fantastic makeup sex, so neither of us got too upset over our disagreements.

We were rushed back into the helicopter, and were soon back at Trent's compound. Trent had put 50% of all his assets, including his land and real estate holdings, into my name, for legal reasons he said, but against my wishes. So technically it was my compound as well as his. But I knew I would never feel as if it were mine. I had finally been persuaded to let him put my name on the holdings as a place holder until our son was born, and then Trent had promised to transfer everything to him. We hadn't picked out an actual name yet, either, because I wanted our boy to be named after his father, and Trent wanted him to have his own identity, quite the opposite of how people thought each of us would want to name our son. We had 6 more months to come up with a suitable name, so our disagreement was lighthearted and teasing.

Unbeknownst to Trent, I prayed every night that our son would be born completely elven, with none of the demon DNA expressing itself in any way. And I also hoped that Trent could do some genetic tampering and get rid of our son's demon DNA altogether, so he would never have to worry about his children being demons. I knew it was hypocritical of me to want Trent to do genetic tampering, but when it's your own children it's different. I now knew why my parents had agreed to my own genetic treatments.

Once we were back at the compound, I tried to sneak out to go back to the church, but Trent figured out my plan and convinced me to take a rest. He had some work to do, so he said he'd join me later. Honestly, I was too exhausted to argue with him. I just about got into bed before I fell asleep.

When I woke, there was a warm body next to me, snoring lightly. I snuggled closer to my husband and went back to sleep.

We were back at the clinic at 10:00 am the next morning. I normally would have slept in much later, but because I was so worried about Ceri I woke early. Trent had already gone to the clinic, but had come back with the helicopter to pick me up and bring me to the clinic. He didn't want me to travel in the helicopter by myself in my condition. That was just so weird I couldn't even argue with him about it. I just shook my head, and acted happy to see him, and really I was. I hated helicopters, although I would never admit that to him. He seemed to love them. It went along with his obsession with technical gadgets. He had given me a really thin cell phone after we'd gotten married, but I rarely used it. I did agree to carry it with me, so he wouldn't microchip me in my sleep one night.

At the clinic, Quen looked really tired, but also somewhat hopeful. Ceri had woken up sometime during the night, and had been able to eat something. She still hadn't shown any signs of recognition, but she did seem to remember how to take care of her own basic needs, which the doctor thought was a very good sign.

Trent had used his charm or threats to get Vivian to agree to see Ceri and she was due to arrive on his private jet the next day. He had apparently talked to her when I was sleeping the day before. I had saved Vivian's life, but she still liked Trent better. But then, who wouldn't? He was charming, and handsome, and had a body made for sin. Well, she better keep her mind on her job, and off of my husband. Yes, I was jealous. But then, who wouldn't be?

"Rachel, the doctor thinks it may help if you talk to her. As her oldest friend, maybe you'll be able to jog her memory." Quen told me, having obviously taken over as the main contact for Ceri's doctors. I was surprised to see that Trent was allowing him to take on that role, or maybe Quen just did it, as Ceri was his love. Trent did not seem upset by Quen's dominance, although I knew Quen was the only person in the world that Trent would allow to tell him what to do. And maybe me, but no one but he and I knew that.

I went to sit next to Ceri's bed, and saw that she was awake, but staring straight up at the ceiling, not moving. "Ceri, how are you feeling?" I took her hand in mine, and she turned to look at me, but there was no recognition in her eyes. But I thought I saw a spark of maybe, curiosity? "Do you remember anything? Where have you been for the past few months? Do you want to see Ray?" I quickly looked over at Quen and winced. Maybe they didn't want Ray to see her and get confused in case it wasn't her mother. And that made sense. She didn't seem to recognize the name, though, and her gaze went back to the ceiling. I felt pretty stupid just sitting there, I wasn't sure what to say. I was saved by the door opening and Ivy and Jenks came into the room. Jenks was sitting on Ivy's shoulder and they both looked upset. Shit, I knew I should have called Ivy immediately, or at least as soon as we got home from the clinic. I guess Jenks must have called her, or Trent.

"Tink's a Disney whore, what's going on Rache? Why didn't you let Ivy know about Ceri right away?" Jenks asked sounding peeved. Ivy just looked at me questioningly.

"I guess I was still in shock yesterday. Do you want to sit here, Ivy?" I asked, really sorry I'd forgotten her.

"I guess your priorities are different now." Ivy said, accusingly.

I said nothing. I wasn't going to let her make me feel guilty. Yes, my priorities were different. Trent and the baby came first now. But I didn't want to get into an argument at Ceri's bedside, so I just nodded and left the room.

Trent was standing just outside the door, and he smiled and put his arms around me as soon as he saw me.

"Thanks for letting Ivy know, I don't know how I forgot to tell her." I told him.

"Of course, yesterday was a huge shock, you did exactly what you had to do. I'm used to dealing with a thousands things at once because of all my business interests, that's all. I knew you'd want her to know, but I wasn't sure if the doctor would think it was a good idea to let both Ivy and Jenks visit at the same time. But she said it would be acceptable, and they both wanted to come, so..." Trent explained as he pulled me into a tighter embrace.

I reached up and gave him a quick kiss, and said, "Thank you." He looked pleased by my acknowledgement of his thoughtfulness, and moved to pull me into a longer, deeper kiss. "How are you feeling? Are you tired at all? We have to keep you healthy as well!" Trent asked, with a concerned tone.

"I'm fine. I'm pregnant, not sick." I said, exasperated. "It's a natural bodily process."

"Not in our case, no, it isn't. Although your doctors seem happy with how things are progressing so far. Everything seems normal, thank the goddess." Trent said, not at all offended by my snarky attitude.

"How is Ceri really doing?" I asked, wanting to get his attention off my condition.

"Well, there are a lot of tests set up for today and tomorrow. We will know better after they are complete. She is awake but doesn't seem to remember anyone or anything for that matter. I am having the body exhumed, too, so my labs can run some forensic tests on it." Trent said, very matter of factly.

"Ok, but you don't need to give me any details on that, please." I told him firmly.

Trent looked at me sideways and then let go of me as Ivy and Jenks left Ceri's room. My mind drifted off as he gave them a full run down on Ceri's condition, her doctor's thoughts, the tests that were going to be run.

"Give us a few minutes, and we'll go back to the compound with you. Rachel needs to rest." Trent told my partners.

It was my turn to look at him sideways, but I held my tongue as he ushered me back into Ceri's room. We said our goodbyes to Quen. Ceri didn't acknowledge our presence so there was no use saying goodbye to her. On our way out of the clinic Trent stopped to have a short conversation with her doctor, and then we all went to the helicopter to fly back to the compound.

Maggie had made us a light brunch, but as both Ivy and Jenks had begged off, we were sitting by ourselves at the dining table.

"Should I call Al? I am kind of afraid to tell him about Ceri, but he may be able to get some information from Newt on where she came from." Al was the demon that I had been visiting in the Ever After for the past two years as part of an agreement to rescue Trent from the demon familiar auction. Our weekly lessons had ended after Trent and I were married. Al said it was because he didn't want the putrid elf smell coming from me to contaminate his rooms. I really think he was afraid the other demons might harass me and him if they found out about my marriage to an elf. Whatever reason, it was a relief. But we still talked at least once a week, like two old friends gossiping about our neighbors. Trent didn't like our friendly relationship, but he was so relieved that I didn't have to go into the Ever After each week that he didn't say much about our weekly chats.

"I don't know. He was pretty upset about Ceri's supposed death. Will he fly off the handle and do something stupid? I don't like the idea of him knowing about Ceri." Trent worried.

"I don't like it either, but I don't want to speak to Newt again. She's even crazier than ever, I think." I didn't trust her with Trent, and I'd promised him I wouldn't be alone with her, so Al seemed like the best alternative.

"Will we be able to continue to keep your pregnancy a secret from him?" Trent asked, with a worried frown.

"Maybe we should tell him?" I wasn't sure keeping such an important secret from Al was smart, but I had agreed to Trent's desire to keep the secret. And he hadn't changed his opinion.

"Absolutely not. I don't trust him at all. He abandoned you just because you married someone he didn't like. What kind of friend does that?" Trent said with the conviction of someone with a deep loyalty to all those he cared about.

"I can't disagree, but I don't want him to find out some other way. He'd be furious. I know he'll be supportive, it could be a demon baby, that's what I will tell him, anyway. He won't know until the birth, that's he may be 100% elf. I understand that you don't trust him, but he's always been good with the girls. He likes children, although he'd deny that to his last breath. Please, we can use him on our side if anything ever happens with the demons." I cajoled.

"Ok, but I want to be in on the conversation when you tell him, and about Ceri, too."

I sighed. "Of course, let me call him." I was actually really glad Trent had agreed, and I didn't mind him being on the call, as long as the two of them remained civil.

I got my scrying mirror out of the oak desk in the sanctuary, and sat on the couch with Trent next to me. "Al, Rachel calling Al. Come in Al."

"Rachel, can you call back, love, I'm kind of busy right now, ah, cleaning!" Al said in his 18th century British accent.

"Al, this is kind of important, and I think you are going to want to know what has happened. It involves Newt and...Ceri. And Trent's here, so please speak out loud so he can hear you. Plus I have some really good news for you." I spoke out load so Trent could hear.

"Ah, twitchy witch, you have your elf there? You know it really isn't good form to marry your familiar. But if that's how you keep him under your thumb on that side of the lines, then so be it." Al teased both Trent and I.

I could see Trent's ears turning red.

"Stop teasing, Al. Trent is not my familiar, never has been, and I don't have him under my thumb. We are equal partners, you know that. If you can't play nice, I am going to hang up, and you won't get the news." I told Al, but really for the benefit of Trent. I didn't want the two of them going at it, again.

"Alright, Rachel, but I'm busy, so get to it." Grumped Al.

"Well...Newt dropped off a person in my sanctuary yesterday, a real live person, but she never told me where the person came from. She literally dropped her off as she misted out. She dropped in just to drop her off." I told Al.

"Sorry, love, but what's this gift got to do with me? Are you giving me a familiar?"

"Good, goddess, no!" Said Trent vehemently.

I gave him a sideways glance, hoping he would take the hint, and shut up.

"Look, Al. This person looks exactly like Ceri. Exactly. She hasn't spoken to anyone or shown any sign of recognition of anyone, even Quen. But she's awake, and apparently healthy. Do you have any idea where she may have come from?" I told Al, in a rush, trying to get it all out to him as fast as I could.

Al said nothing.

"Al! Al, are you still there?"

"But, but, you got her dead body from KuSoks. She's dead and buried. Isn't that right, Trent? He left her body for you." Al said, the shock apparent in his voice. He rarely spoke directly to Trent, so I knew how upset he was.

"Yes, Al." Trent said wearily. "We got a body that looked like Ceri. I'm having some forensic tests run on the body to see if it was subject to a doppleganger curse, or anything else they can detect. I am at a loss, like Rachel, as to who is who. The new Ceri will also go through a bunch of tests over the next few days. Maybe we will turn up something. I am just as shocked as you! We both are!"

"I will have to see if I can catch Newt in a lucid moment to get something out of her. I am not hopeful, but it's worth a shot. This is pretty unbelievable. Let me know what you find out. I have to run, children."

"Wait, Al. I, I want to let you know that, umm, Trent and I are, we're going to, umm, have a baby." I told Al, in a soft voice, as though saying it softly would keep it from shocking him.

"I know that, love. Why do you think that I let you off your weekly lessons? You smell more like your elf than yourself at times and you have since you came back from your little vacation. I honestly don't know how you two did it, an elf and a demon, but I expect it's something to do with Trent's father's genetic manipulation, itchy witch. Trenton, do you know what your father did to our Rachel?"

"You knew?" I said, mad at his duplicity. "And you didn't say anything? You haven't told anyone else have you?"

"Of course not, it would not be a good reflection on me for my demon student to be impregnated by an elf. Besides, with any luck, you'll have a demon baby and then we can tell everyone. We'll have a party!" Al said, excitedly.

Trent and I exchanged a look, agreeing silently that we wouldn't tell Al that we both were praying that our son would be more elf than demon.

"Let us know if you find out anything from Newt. Goodbye, Al." I hung up quickly before he could ask any questions.

Trent and I sat and looked at each other, stunned that Al already knew about the baby.

"I guess that went over better than I expected." I said.

"But he didn't really help at all." Trent said.

"Give him some time, he may be able to come up with something from Newt. I don't want to talk to her, so this is a much better choice."

"Goddess, no, you can't talk to her, who knows what she would do!" Trent said, vehemently. "Let's go take a rest, and then we can go back to see Ceri tonight."

"Oh, are you tired?" I asked, a little concerned.

"I'm not really tired, but I do want to go back to bed. Do you want to go back to bed, Mrs Kalamack?" Trent asked in a low, husky voice, laced with desire.

"Please." I agreed, as the desire in his eyes lit my own fires of passion.

Trent quickly pulled me into our bedroom, our mutual need rushing us along. Trent pulled me into a long, deep, passionate kiss as soon as he closed the bedroom door. My desire sparked as he pressed me against the door and started kissing my neck and shoulders. We moved quickly to the bed, tearing at each other's clothes as we went, too fevered with desire to stop touching long enough to worry about buttons and zippers. When our mutual needs had been satisfied, we laid on the bed in each others arm, whispering loving and soothing words, giving each other the strength for the trials we knew we would be facing in the days ahead. We fell asleep in each other's arms.

I woke and turned to see Trent was already gone. I knew he needed to get some work done, and make sure security was covered with Quen effectively occupied with Ceri's care for the immediate future. He also wanted to check on his daughters, and talk with their nanny to make sure everything continued to be as normal as possible for them.

At 6:00 Trent returned from his office and we ate dinner with the girls, and then spent an hour playing with them, trying to keep their routine as normal as possible. Trent read them a bedtime story, and we put them to bed, with their nanny/bodyguard sleeping in their room to make sure they were safe and tended. Trent had hired her from the Withins after having been impressed by her when he broke into the Withins' compound to steal Lucy in an Elven Quest designed to test his leadership abilities. She seemed like a very capable person, with just one odd quirk. She liked Jonathan. He seemed to have no interest in her, however. It had to be because she wasn't an elf, as she was a very attractive woman. Jonathan was a complete snob, but I wouldn't ever say that to Trent.

After the girls were asleep, we walked hand in hand out to the helicopter that had just landed, and got in for the flight to Ceri's bedside.


	3. Chapter 3 Vivian's Visit

Chapter 3 Vivian's Visit

As soon as we walked up to the area outside Ceri's room, Quen stalked over to us. "I don't care what the doctors say, I know this is Ceri, and that she'll remember us if we just give her enough time!" Quen shouted at Trent, unable to accept Ceri's doctors pronouncement that she might never get her memory back. I had never heard Quen yell or even raise his voice to Trent, and I stepped back, as if his anger had a physical force. I watched Trent's face go from shock to anger to pity as he stood unmoving in front of Quen, absorbing Quen's emotion and taking it on as he did for everyone. I hated seeing him take on the worries and burdens of everyone around him, but it was something I loved about him, too. But he didn't have to do it alone anymore.

I walked up to Trent and took his hand, squeezing it, to remind him he was not alone. He looked at me sideways, not used to someone helping him, but his face changed from surprised to grateful. He squeezed my hand back, and pulled it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles, seeming without thought. My heart warmed.

"Quen, I am not sure what to think. The forensic tests show that the body we buried had the same exact DNA as the woman in the bed. But there can't be two Ceri's. I don't know what to think. Let me talk to our geneticists to see if they have any thoughts. We aren't giving up on Ceri. We, including the doctors, are just trying to figure out what's going on. I want this to be our Ceri as much as you, but we just don't know enough yet. Let me work on the answer, my friend, for my sake as much as yours, and Ray's." Trent said, with a serious tone.

Quen just nodded, his emotionless mask back in place. He turned without further conversation and walked into Ceri's room. I followed him in but as Ceri was sleeping, I left the room after a few minutes. Trent was talking to Ceri's lead doctor, so I stood at the window that looked into Ceri's room, silently agreeing with Quen that Ceri may just need more time. As much as I dreaded it, I knew we needed to talk to Newt.

I walked over to Trent and as soon as he finished with his discussion with the doctor, I pulled him aside to suggest that we speak to Newt as soon as we got home.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out Trent had one of his little black sports cars in the parking lot that we could use for a leisurely drive home, instead of using the helicopter. I was tired of the noise and tension I felt when riding in it.

"I really don't want to talk to Newt about Ceri, but I think if we both talk to her we may be able to keep her on the right subject. But please don't your guard down. She has a creepy interest in you, and I don't like it. Maybe I should talk to her alone." I told Trent, seriously.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but let's give Al a few days to see if he can come up with anything, and if not, maybe we can use him as a buffer if we have to talk to Newt." Trent said with a resigned sigh.

As it was close to midnight, traffic was light and our drive back home was peaceful. Trent cranked the radio up and we sang along to some classic rock songs, holding hands and just enjoying each other's company for a time.

As much as I didn't want to see Vivian, I agreed to accompany Trent to the clinic the next day to meet with her before she visited with Ceri. Trent made me feel guilty about leaving everything to him, so I grudgingly acquiesced. I had my own stuff to do; I still had some spelling to complete and I wanted to make sure everything was OK at the church. I felt like something wasn't right there, but I couldn't quite figure out what was bothering me. But I knew it would have to wait one more day.

The next day we drove the BMW convertible to the clinic, as Trent had sent the helicopter to the airport to pick Vivian up.

Vivian looked the same as she had when I'd first seen her in the supermarket when she was trying to arrest me, not at all like the bedraggled girl who traveled with Trent, Jenks, Ivy and I from New Mexico to San Francisco in my mothers powder blue Buick. She'd been spying on me for the Coven at the time, but had ended up on my side in the Rachel shunning controversy after seeing me fighting KuSocs using black magic. It was hard to believe that had been just over a year ago.

"Rachel! you look wonderful! It's so good to see you!" Vivian gushed, putting her arms around me in a professional, but warm hug. OK, maybe I had saved her from life as a bunker bride by taking her with us after she'd accidentally been knocked unconscious at a truck stop in the desert, but this seemed a little extreme for the normally introverted woman. She also greeted Trent, but just shook his hand. "I was so surprised to hear about you two getting married, at first. But after I thought back to our car trip, I remembered all the signs that showed you two were crazy for each other! Congratulations!"

Trent and I exchanged a look. We had fought with each other on that trip, totally annoyed with one another, mostly. I'd wanted to smack him numerous times. And I had hated him at times for his stupid decisions. But I guess hate was just the other side of love. And I had loved seeing him right out of the shower, with only a towel around his hips. I blushed at that thought, and Trent smirked at me. Darn him, he knew what I was thinking about! "I guess we were the last two to realize it, but thank you! We are very happy!" I told Vivian.

Trent and I exchanged another look, me blushing, and the tips of his slightly pointed ears red. We were both thinking about another shower then, the one we had taken together earlier that morning.

Trent went into businessman mode then, directing Vivian over to introduce her to Quen, and Ceri's doctors. He efficiently directed the conversation to Ceri's condition, and his expectations for Vivian's help. As my part in the meet and greet was over, I was anxious to leave to go back home to get some work done.

I was vaguely aware of the conversation, but my attention was snagged by Vivian's mention of my name. Shit, she wanted my help? I didn't know a charm or curse to detect a dobbleganger spell. I hadn't even had time to look it up in any of my demon texts. If I had known I'd be expected to help, I'd have found the time. Right. I drifted over to the group to see exactly what Vivian wanted me to do.

"Rachel, everyone agrees that you and Quen are Ceri's best friends. I think it will help for you both to be in the room while I talk to her, and I'd like both of you to help keep her calm while I actually invoke the charm. No one else should be in the room." Vivian bit her lip. "Well, maybe you, too, Trent. You were very close before...right?" She thought Trent and Ceri had been a couple, I realized. And now with me in the mix, she wasn't sure what Trent's relationship to Ceri was going to be. _You and me both._ I thought, with just a touch of bitterness.

But Trent, of course, was ahead of all of us, having figured out exactly how to handle Vivian's questions. "Yes, I loved Ceri like a sister, but it is Qwen and Rachel who Ceri loved best. I trust your judgement that they should help you with Ceri."

If Vivian had any lingering questions about the strange relationship between the three Elves, she didn't show it. "Good, let's get started then." She followed Quen into Ceri's room.

Trent held me back with a hand on my arm. He kissed me lightly, and said, "Good luck, my love. Ceri has always loved you and Quen best. As I have always loved you best, my beautiful demonesse." And he ushered me into Ceri's room.

After Trent left us in Ceri's room, Vivian motioned for Quen and I to sit in chairs that were against the wall, away from the bed. Vivian sat in the chair next to Ceri and started to chant in a low monotone. I couldn't make out the words, but they seemed to be in Elvish. I looked over at Quen to see if he understood what she was chanting. He was looking at Ceri, and seemed to be mouthing the same words that Vivian was using in her chant. Vivian knew Elvish? I thought that I should learn it, also, as I knew the girls already were bilingual in English and Elvish, and soon I would be the only one in the family not to know the language.

I was starting to feel pretty useless as I couldn't join in the chant, but Vivian motioned for me to sit in the chair next to the bed, as she stood up to position herself at Ceri's head. She motioned for Quen to sit on the bed on Ceri's other side. She held her hands up over Ceri's head and they started to glow as she continued to chant louder and louder. I grabbed Ceri's hand as she started to move around in the bed, and her eyes seemed to focus on Vivian, the first sign of recognition I had seen in her eyes since she had dropped into my church. Quen looked hopeful, as he held Ceri's other hand and put his other arm around her shoulders, holding her still. Vivian made a motion with her hand and said three words of Elvish and then slumped and started to slip to the floor. I jumped up, dropping Ceri's hand to grab Vivian.

I gently lowered her into the chair I had been sitting in. She slowly came back to full consciousness, and her eyes went to mine and she gave a slight shake of her head. She motioned for me to leave the room with her, and told Quen to stay with Ceri. Ceri had lost the look of recognition when Vivian slumped, and now she was just laying there again, looking at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

Vivian and I walked over to Trent. "Should we wait for Quen to discuss what I saw?" Vivian asked both of us.

Trent and I looked at each other. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea, then you won't have to explain twice. I will go get him. Rachel, can show you the waiting room. I think we should talk there and we can get you some tea or coffee. You look a little peaked." Trent said, managing us all at once.

"This way, Vivian. Coffee or tea? Would you like to use the rest room while we wait?" I ushered her into a well appointed room that looked like a very comfortable living room, with a kitchen off to one side, and restrooms on the opposite side.

"Coffee, please, and I will use the ladies room. It was a long flight." Vivian walked over to the facilities and I went and poured two cups of coffee. I forgot to ask her how she took it, so I put her mug on a tray with the sugar bowl and cream and a little spoon I found in a drawer. I sat it down on a coffee table, and waited for everyone to come into the room. I looked at a window that overlooked a pasture with horses grazing, and the sun shining. I knew this was a video feed, similar to the ones in Trent's compound, as we were at least two stories underground. It was very realistic, though. Apparently Trent has upgraded the technology since I'd last seen the feed in his formal office, and if I hadn't known we were underground, I would have sworn it was the view right outside the window.

Trent and Quen walked into the room first and I pointed to the ladies room to let them know where Vivian was before they asked. "Would you like some tea? It's no trouble, someone just brewed a pot." I said, surprising both of them, I think. I knew how to play the good hostess, I just didn't like to be forced to do it.

"I will help you." Trent said, surprising me. We went into the kitchen and got two mugs of tea. They both liked their tea black in the mornings, so it was just a matter of pouring from the teapot into the mugs. I thought Trent came with me because he had something to tell me, but he just pulled me to the side where we could not be seen, and gave me a quick kiss and a hug, surprising me again. As we broke apart, he drew me back to him, pressed me against the wall with the entire length of his hard body against mine and gave me a longer, deeper, passionate kiss that took my breath away, and made me melt into him, my legs barely able to hold me up. And then he pulled out of the kiss, burying his face into my neck, panting just as I was until we both regained our equilibrium. "Later." He growled in a sultry voice. And then without another word he picked up the two mugs and walked back to the waiting room. I straightened my shirt, patted my hair, and then followed him, still breathless.

Vivian had joined Quen and after Trent gave Quen his tea, and I gave Vivian the coffee and tray of coffee fixings, we all sat down around the coffee table.

In typical Trent fashion, he took over the meeting. "Vivian, first let us thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to see Ceri. And so quickly. We are forever in your debt." He smiled brilliantly, and I was reminded again how easy it was for him to charm everyone he met. The combination of his Elven scent, melodious voice, easy charm, handsome features and polished ease instantly won over almost everyone he met. Almost.

So I was surprised to see wariness in Vivian's eyes at his words which made me wonder how he had gotten her here at all, and so quickly. I expected there was a large sum of money involved. I knew Vivian would never stoop to taking a bribe so it must have been something for the good of the entire coven. And even though she was now the leader of the coven, she probably had to accede to their mandates at times. But I knew she did not like to be manipulated.

And after 2 days on a cross country car trip with Trent, Ivy, Jenks and me, she knew Trent well enough to see past his polish. They hadn't gotten along very well, and it seems she might still feel wary of him. And that made me wonder if Trent was putting on a show for her, trying to win her over. Half the time I couldn't follow his motives, so I just trusted they were for good, not evil. He was a changed man since that trip, and I trusted him now. But after being brought up to believe manipulation was not only alright, but the preferred method to deal with people, he still found it hard to refrain from manipulation everyone around him.

"What did you find?" Quen said, getting right to the point, in typical Quen fashion.

"Well, I really didn't find anything. I mean, there is no doppleganger charm evident. She seems to be in good health, but she is missing something. Her aura is intact, her soul seems fine, but there are no memories at all in her mind. They aren't just hiding, they just aren't there at all. I think this is probably your Ceri, such as she is, but she is missing so much. If I didn't know better, I'd have to think someone cleanly cut them out of her. It could be that someone was trying to erase something from her memory, and they used a separation charm rather than a forget charm, and they took too much. I think you said she still remembers how to eat, dress, and perform other necessary tasks to take dare of her basic needs. So she does retain those very basic memories. But the rest seem to just be gone. If you can find who did this to her, and they kept those memories, you might be able to retrieve them. Then you may be able to find someone to put them back into her. You will probably need an elf who is a highly skilled Elven Wild Magic practitioner. I don't know of anyone, but with your contacts, you can probably find someone."

Vivian stopped talking, I thought because she had run out of breath.

"Vivian, any ideas on how the memories were taken?" Trent asked, taking my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. I was still flustered over that kiss, so I just squeezed his hand back, but didn't say anything.

"No, but I will have Wyatt do some research when I get home. Wyatt is great with digging up old spells and charms. And he has a special interest in Elven magics, so he should be able to come up with something." Vivian said.

"Why do you think this was accomplished by Elven magic?" I asked, starting to become intrigued by the puzzle.

"There is a residual magic in her mind, and it feels Elven. Elven magic had a unique 'flavor', I guess. It's a flavor of the sea, the woods, the sun. The unique blend depends on the practitioner, and where they came from, who they learned from... It almost like tasting the terroir of a good tea. There are a lot of pieces that go into making the flavor unique." Vivian said with all seriousness. I knew wine had a different taste depending on where it came from, but I never knew tea and magic could be differentiated in the same way.

Both Trent and Quen looked hopeful after her explanation, although I didn't understand how the 'terroir' of magic would help us find Ceri's torturer. Because whoever it was was definitely a sicko. How and why would you steal someone's memories? I had to believe Vivian's idea that someone had been trying to erase a specific memory and gone too far to have some validity; but then there probably wouldn't be any residual memories 'saved' anywhere. I didn't voice my opinion. I didn't want to dash the hopes of both men.

"Thank you so much, Vivian. Would you like to join us for breakfast somewhere close by or at our home? I know the schedules of witches are different than elves, so maybe you'd like to spend some time resting first, and then join us for lunch? We have a guest suite set up for you, so just let us know what will work for you." Trent asked Vivian, ever the thoughtful and congenial host.

"Thank you." Vivian said to Trent with the first real warmth she had shown him all day. "Unfortunately I have an evening appointment in New York, so I really need to be leaving to get to the airport. I am sorry I can't stay to visit this time, but I hope I'll be seeing you soon in San Francisco. I understand you have agreed to start a scholarship fund for talented Inderlander children and to host the first charity event next solstice. And I guess we have you to thank, Rachel, for getting Takata to agree to perform."

"No, that's all Trent's idea." I said with a little warmth. Why didn't he tell me these things before he committed me to them? Damn him, he could go do it alone. I remembered his kiss earlier, and blushed. Well, I wasn't going to let him go to some swank event where there'd be debutants and actress types vying for his attention by himself, so I just punched his arm when no one was looking. He gave me a mischievous grin, and mouthed, you're going to pay for that, later! That made me blush even harder.

"Vivian, as I said when I called, our plane is at your disposal, so whenever you are ready, we can get you directly to New York." Trent told the posh young woman.

After saying our goodbyes, we sent Vivian off in the helicopter to go to the airport to start her journey to New York.

Trent and I had decided to keep the baby a secret from the outside world as long as we could, so we didn't mention it to Vivian. I wondered if she suspected something though, as she had looked at my stomach pointedly when she was saying goodbye, and had said cryptically "If you ever need to talk about anything, Rachel, please don't hesitate to call me. I hope you know I will always be on your side, no matter what." And then she had glanced over at Trent with squinted eyes. Damn, she thinks Trent isn't the father and that either he doesn't know about the baby, or married me to get control of the 'demon' baby. Crap on toast! How much longer can we keep it a secret, anyway?

Trent and Quen went to talk to Ceri's doctors again, and I stood looking in at her. She seemed to be sleeping again, so I decided to stay out of her room to let her.

The session with Vivian had drained me, and I wanted to go home and go to bed. It was nap time for elves, too, so I hoped Trent would be ready to leave soon.

He was, and he drove the Beemer home with us holding hands the entire ride back to the compound.

Once we were home, Trent walked with me to our bedroom and then said he had some work to do before he could sleep. I put my foot down, and said I would stay awake, too, reading some spell books until he was ready to sleep. He finally capitulated to my cranky demand that he sleep, too, and we put on our comfy pajamas and actually fell asleep shortly after we got into bed. We were both exhausted.

When I woke a few hours later, Trent was gone, not surprisingly. I had expected his nap would be shorter than usual. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't there, though, as I wanted to talk to him about Ceri. I knew he had a plan, and I wanted to see what it was. I was still sleepy, though, so I decided to go back to sleep. Honestly, the baby _was_ making me tired.

That evening, Quen joined us for dinner, wanting to see the girls, and needing to sleep in his own bed, I think. Maggie had cooked a wonderful roasted chicken dinner, with real homemade gravy, potatoes, vegetables and homemade stuffing. It was delicious and I ate almost as much as the elves. The girls prattled happily about their day, threw food at each other, and babbled about their ponies. Trent had given them each a pony for solstice and although they couldn't ride them yet, they visited them every day at the stables, sitting on their backs while being held on by their nanny and the stable master.

After dinner we all played with the girls, letting Quen take up most of their attention, filling himself with daddy time. He read them their stories at bedtime; Trent and I just gave them each a kiss goodnight, leaving the rest of their bedtime rituals to Quen.

Once they were asleep, the three of us sat around in the living room, Trent and I sitting next to each other on the couch, arm in arm, and Quen on the comfy chair next to the couch. Trent and I were drinking tea, mine decaf, and Quen had a glass of pre turn whiskey.

We all sat in silence, enjoying the quiet, and thinking our own separate thoughts.

"OK, I think I need to speak to Al again to tell him about Vivian's theories." I said, getting the Ceri discussion going. I never did have a lot of patience with just sitting around.

Trent looked at me with his stern face, which I usually found either adorable or annoying. I thought he looked adorable tonight, lucky for both of us. I was too tired to be annoyed with him, and I wanted some good cuddle time later. Annoyed usually ended with a fight which led to making up with no time or energy for cuddling!

"What, love?" I said to Trent, taking his hands in mine and squeezing them gently. This distracted him and he smiled at me.

"_WE_ need to speak to Al, together. Now that he knows about the baby, I really feel uncomfortable with his inane banter, and innuendo, and I really would like to be in on any conversations you have with him. Please, love?" Trent asked in a very calm, reasonable manner, in his melodious, sexy voice. And he learned over and kissed me softly on on my hands as they still held his hands. His cinnamon and wine scent washed over me.

OK, he hit all four of my 'I'll do whatever you want, Trent' buttons at the same time. He said please, he spoke in his sexy voice, his scent washed over me, and he kissed me gently. I just couldn't say no to him when he pushed those four buttons at once. And he knew it. And I knew he knew it, but it always worked anyway. That man could really push my buttons. And I blushed, and looked down shyly, acting like a silly girl in love. OK, I was a silly girl in love, I couldn't help it

"Of course, Trent, that's what I meant." I said, raising my eyes to his, rubbing my hand over his arm, reassuringly. I also saw the smoldering heat my casual touch had brought to his eyes, and I smiled wickedly, reaching back where Quen couldn't see my hand, and pinched his but. I loved his tight, sexy but. He looked startled, but then grinned and leaned over and whispered in my ear in a sultry tone, "You're going to pay for that later, wife."

"Whatever you want, husband." I whispered back.

Quen cleared his throat and brought our attention back to our Ceri discussion.

"Trent, what do you think about Vivian's theory that the wild magic used to damage Ceri's memories can be traced back to the elf or at least to the region where the elf lives based on its signature flavor? I've never heard of that before. Do you think it's possible?" Quen asked the young elf.

While Quen had a lot more experience using all forms of magic than Trent, including Wild Elven magic, Trent had been studying the old Elven magic texts, as well as old demon and Ley line texts, for the past year, and had gained a lot of theoretical knowledge. Trent was also very skilled at figuring out how to use old magics by boiling them down to their essence. He had done this when he had created rings to jump us together in times of need. He had also used an old Elven Wild Magic spell to save my life by putting my soul in a bottle to heal after my body had been burned so badly in a Ley line that I was dying. The spell saved my life and was the initiation of our first kiss. I believe it was that kiss that started our gravitation towards each other, ending in our marriage, and our unborn child growing inside me.

And Trent was a very low key, never discussed, genius. He had finished two doctorates in biochemistry and human anatomy by the time he was 23, after starting college at 15 and finishing at 17. I didn't even know he was a PhD until I saw one of his diplomas stashed in a drawer in his back office one day when I 'looking for paper.' Really, I was nosing around in there, waiting for him one afternoon. When I asked him why he never told me, he said, 'Would you really have cared, or been impressed? Most people are mistrustful of those with "too much schooling," and in business it's best to let your partners and rivals underestimate you, so it's something I usually don't tell anyone.'

Damn right I was impressed, and I let him know that as thoroughly as I could.

Trent tapped his jaw with his long, elegant fingers, thinking for a second. "Actually, I do remember reading a paper about a year ago about identifying Elven practitioners by their aura signatures, and I suspect what Vivian was talking about was similar. I will see if I can track down that paper and contact the author to see what he or she thinks about Vivian's idea. I will do that first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime, do Ceri's doctors think she should start any kind of physical or psychological rehabilitation?"

"The last of the tests will be done tomorrow, and after that we will discuss the next steps. Are you going to be available to speak with her doctors tomorrow?" Quen directed his question at Trent, which made sense as Trent was the go to expert in all things Elven for his entire race. Predictably I felt left out even though I knew I probably wouldn't be able to add anything to the discussion.

"I can be available at your convenience tomorrow by video conference for any discussion needed. There is a room set up for that at the clinic. Rachel and I have some tests set up tomorrow afternoon for our baby, so we have to be here, but we will make it work. Will that work out for you, too, Rachel?" Trent asked, effectively bringing me back into the dialog. I had totally forgotten about my own appointment and I was a little flustered.

"Yes, whatever I can do to help." I told them, being purposely vague.

"It's been a long, eventful day, and I am pretty tired. Are you ready to retire, Rachel?" Trent asked me, his voice just a little husky. He wasn't fooling Quen or me about why he was eager to get to our bedroom, so I just nodded, knowing he was ready to drag me in there anyway, no matter what I said. "Goodnight, Quen. I'll see you in the morning."

I also said a hasty goodnight to Quen which he returned, distractedly, as Trent pulled me up off the couch and put his arm around my waist to propel me towards our room.

Once we were there, he spent the next few hours reminding me why having an Elven husband was such a wonder! The man sure had stamina! When we were both too tired to move, he spooned my back, and we cuddled until we fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4 Attack!

Chapter 4. Attack

The next morning, I finally convinced Trent that I was feeling much better and could finish up my spelling work at the church before our afternoon doctors appointment and he agreed without any argument. He was in a very good mood, and so was I, so I didn't even grump too much when he insisted Jonathan accompany me. After hearing that 'Uncle Jonny' was going to the church, the girls wanted to go, and Trent agreed to that also, insisting we also take the nanny. Jenks wanted to come too, to help watch the girls, and to see how Jumoke was getting along. He had the same uneasy feeling about the state of the church that I did.

It seemed that I was going with an entourage, not what I had wanted, but there wasn't too much I could do to discourage them. At least 'Uncle Jonny' would be too busy watching the girls to bother with me, I reasoned.

We drove over to the church in the armored SUV, and the girls babbled in their car seats the whole time. By the time the almost hour drive got us to the church, I was ready to pull my hair out. So I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and ran to the front door. It was unlocked, which wasn't uncommon. Although we had an outside lock installed after Ivy and I moved out, Jumoke didn't usually use it during daylight hours. The thing that bothered me was the lack of a greeting when we walked into the church. Jumoke's new kin usually had half a dozen or more pixie kids flying around making lots of high pitched noise in the sanctuary. Jenks must have also heard something he didn't like or didn't understand, because he went on instant alert.

"Rache, don't let Jonathan bring the girls in here, something isn't right. I'll stay here until you get back in to let me know they are away safe." Jenks said, his garden sword raised.

I ran back out to the SUV and explained to Jonathan and the nanny that both Jenks and I felt the church wasn't safe for the girls. I asked them to take the girl back to Trent's immediately. Jonathan was a little reluctant to leave me there alone, but I told him the girls were the first priority, and that I wasn't leaving Jenks. And Jenks wouldn't leave until he found out where Jumoke and his wife and her family were. Jonathan called Trent, but when he just went to voice mail, he agreed to leave, the nanny riding shotgun. He did call up a contingent of Trent's secondary security to leave the compound immediately to get to the church as soon as possible. But even breaking all the speed limits, the quickest they could get to the church was 30 minutes. I implied to Jonathan that we'd wait for them to arrive before we investigated further, but I didn't actually promise. As soon as the SUV was out of site, I joined Jenks in the sanctuary.

"Jenks, what do you think is going on? Where is everyone?" I asked, very worried.

"I don't know Rache, but look at the couch, it looks like someone burned it with a blow torch or something."

There was a burn mark on the couch in the shape of a body, the burn only going about 2" deep in an even pattern. I leaned down to sniff the spot, before Jenks could stop me. "This smells like magic, not fire. It's as if someone was wiping the trace of something from the couch with just enough magic to remove it, no more. It's very precise." I told Jenks.

Jenks and I looked at each other and said, "Ceri!"

I ran into my bedroom and the same type of 'burn' was on my bed where Ceri had been resting the day she was dropped into the church. Jenks paused in the doorway for a second and then darted into the kitchen and out the pixie sized hole in the kitchen screen to the back garden. I followed him by the door in the back living room.

Outside it was unnaturally quiet. There was no sign of any pixies. Jenks darted into the back cemetery, and dived into a hollow gravestone that the pixies had carved out as a kind of emergency shelter. He darted inside and then shouted, "They're here Rache, but everyone seems to be unconscious. Can you come over to see what's wrong with them?"

He sounded frantic. I ran over to the stone, got down on my knees and peered in as best I could. I could only make out one small pixie body laying across the threshold. It was Jumoke and he was still holding his sword. I made a small ball of light and floated it further into the stone. Jenks followed it deeper inside.

"They are all here, Jumoke's wife, Dorothea, and seven of her younger brothers and sisters. They don't look hurt, just as if they are all sleeping. Just then my phone started ringing. I backed out, and saw Trent's name on the caller ID. I answered not wanting him to get too freaked out and try to jump a line here.

"Trent," I rushed. "I am fine, there are no intruders here now. Jenks is OK, too. Everything is OK. The girls are on the way back to the compound with Jonathan. They didn't even get out of the SUV. Don't worry." I said this all so fast I wasn't sure he'd understand it, but I wanted to just convey the main message, I'm OK, the baby's OK, so stand down!

I heard trent take a long measured breath. In relief, I thought.

"What about Jumoke and his wife and kin?" Trent asked.

"Everyone is in the back tombstone emergency shelter. They seem to be under some kind of sleep charm, but other than that, they look OK. I am going to try to counter the charm and wake them." I told him.

"What about the church?" Trent seemed calmer now, knowing everyone was probably going to recover.

"There's some minor damage to some furniture, nothing more. When your security gets here I'd like them to stay here to guard the church, if that's alright." I asked Trent.

"Of course, I insist on it, as a matter of fact. Should I come over?"

"Good grief, no. I'll be back home in about an hour so you'd just get here to turn around again. Don't worry, I'm not going to take any chances with little Trent." I told him.

He chuckled at my nickname for the baby, sounding relieved that I'd be home soon.

"Let me go now so I can work on the charm for the pixies. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too. Please get home as soon as possible." He said, a little forcefully, as if to remind me I said I'd be home in an hour.

"Yes my love, goodbye." I hung up and walked back to the tombstone.

I used the ball of light I'd already created to focus an anti sleep charm, and invoked it. Nothing happened. Jenks looked at me worriedly. I just shrugged and then made another ball of light and used it to focus an anti sleep curse. The smut hit me, and I took it, happy to do so if it would help the pixies.

Jumoke started to wake first, being closest to the source of the anti-curse, and the others followed quickly. Jumoke saw Jenks and said, "Papa, what are you doing here? Why are we in the tombstone?"

Jenks flew over to his son and unreservedly hugged him tight. "I don't know, son. You were all in here asleep when Rache and I got over here. There's some damage to the couch and Rache's bed, it looks like fire or magic fire damage. Do you remember anything?"

Jumoke flew up and over to his wife who was sitting up slowly. She looked OK, just confused like he was. He flew back further into the tombstone and checked on his wife's siblings. "Everyone OK?" Jumoke asked. A high pitched chorus of yeses echoed through the tombstone.

Jumoke flew out and he and Jenks flew over to the church, stopping on the way to make sure the stump was OK. Everything seemed fine.

I followed them slowly. It had looked as though someone wanted to destroy all evidence of Ceri. I had no idea why, but it suddenly hit me. Was Ceri safe at the clinic? I had a moment of heart wrenching panic. I fumbled my phone out and quickly hit 1 to speed dial Trent. I was almost jumping with impatience as the phone rang once. But he picked up immediately, on alert for any call from me.

"Rachel, what..."

"Ceri, the clinic, I think she could be in danger, is she safe? I think someone tried to destroy evidence she had been here, maybe..." I rushed out, in a panic.

"I put the clinic on high alert as soon as I got the first call about the church from Jon. Hold on, I'll check on it." Trent said, calmly. He had the knack of always staying calm even in the worst emergencies. Well, almost always. He had lost his cool only once that I remembered, when he thought I was going to do something that might have killed me."

He came back on the line. "The clinic was attacked, but no one was hurt. Ceri and Quen are at a new location. I don't even know where. Please come home now. Wait, I'm sending the copter for you and Jenks. It'll be there in 15. No arguments. We all need to sit down and figure out what's going on. Carlos and his team are on the way to the church to supplement security and to investigate the scene. Are you still Feeling well? You sound really agitated."

"I am fine, I'm glad Carlos will take charge of the church security. I was worried about leaving Jumoke here alone but they'll be fine with Carlos and his team here. This is just getting weirder and weirder." I assured Trent. Then I thought about the girls. "What about the girls? Are they home yet? Are they OK?"

"They are here, playing in their safe room. There's been no threat here, though, so I don't think the compound has been compromised. Just come home, please. I want all my girls safe at home, please." Trent asked, still calm, but sounding worried.

Just then I heard commotion at the front of the church and a flack jacketed man ran around the church to where we were standing. It was Lonnie, Carlos second in command, and he relayed something into his wrist communicator as soon as he saw me. I had trained with these guys when I had first started filling in for Quen when he was on the west coast, so I knew all of them by name, and was fairly comfortable working with them. But even on my best day, I could never be as good as any of them in a combat setting. Everyone on the team was either an ex army ranger or an ex navy seal. Carlos was also an East coast elf, which was why he was totally trusted by Trent and Quen. He was also the most skilled member of his team, and a natural leader. And he was gorgeous, with dark good looks like Quen. Easy on the eyes, I always thought. Not my type, but then no one else had appealed to me since I had fallen for Trent. Tricky elf, he had captured me heart and soul, after our first kiss.

"Carlo's team is here, so I will see you soon. I am glad they are here, thank you." I told him, feeling grateful he thought of sending the team.

Trent huffed. "I know, I can see you on their video feed. I will see you soon, Rachel. Love you, bye."

Carlos came through the back door of the church, with Jenks on his shoulder. Jenks flew over to me. "I'm going to stay here with Carlos and his team for a while to make sure everything is buttoned down for Jumoke and his family. Carlos has informed Ivy, too, and asked her to stay away from the church for a while. Trent really takes care of us, you know, even Jumoke. I guess once you are part of his family, even through marriage, you are going to be taken care of for life, through good and bad. We are lucky, I guess, that he fell in love with your cranky ass. And I guess he must really like the sex, too!"

"Ha, ha." I grumped, thinking, yeah, he has his good points.

Just then I heard the helicopter, and I resigned myself to another ride in it, deciding not to give the elf a hard time about insisting I come home. He really was good to my family. And to me. Tricky elf, he just kept making me fall more in love with him every day.

The ride home was quick, and the pilots were quiet, and somehow, even with all the noise, I drifted off for a few minutes, waking up when we landed in front of the main office building. I was surprised, and a little anxious, when Trent was not there to meet us land. But I sometimes forgot that he was a busy CEO with a multi billion dollar corporation to run. He had lots of responsibilities. But then I noticed my OB-GYN doctor was waiting for me, and I remembered my appointment for an updated ultrasound of the baby. It was too early for our appointment, but I was happy to get it over with early. I was anxious and excited about seeing the baby again.

"Mr. Kalamack is waiting for us downstairs in the lab. I understand he has another appointment this afternoon, so he asked for the ultrasound to be done earlier. Plus he said you'd want to see his daughters before we went down, so we are taking a slight detour to their rooms first, if that's ok." The doctor told me, firmly taking my arm. She was a petite middle aged woman with a will of iron. I had learned after our first appointment with her that she was someone I did not want to argue with. In a way she reminded me of my mom, but more grounded in reality. I didn't think she approved of my relationship with Trent, thinking, as I'd come to believe most of his employees did, that I was not good enough for him. It's funny, for all I used to think he manipulated or blackmailed his employees into working for him, the truth was that I had never met one employee who had acted unhappy in their job or situation. To the contrary, they were the most loyal employees I had ever met, seeming to have genuine affection for him as well as loyalty. I seemed to have been the only person he had ever tried to employ who had resisted his job offers repeatedly and often loudly and nastily. Looking back, I don't know why I was so against working for him, or why he was so insistent I do so. Honestly, my life would probably have been so much easier if I'd just agreed to take him up on one of his numerous offers to work for him. But I'd never been known to make my own life easier for myself. And now we were married and having a baby together. Who could figure life?

Dr. Kelly led me into the front lobby of the office complex and up to a set of two electric scooters, like the kind you see cops using in airports. She got on one, gesturing me to use the other. I had never been on one, but I'd seen them on TV, so I kind of knew how to use one. I got on and after a few seconds I was able to figure out how to balance myself to propel forward, so I set off to follow her. We went through the corridors until we came to the last elevator at the back of the complex. This elevator led up to the private apartments, or down to the labs. After people cleared the elevator, we got in and headed up to the third floor. This was fun! I loved riding the little scooter!

We got off, and following Dr Kelly's lead I left the scooter by the elevator and we walked to the girls wing. Trent had added a new playroom, a new school room with individual offices for each girl, an office and break room for their future teachers, and a baby gym, using the space created by Ellasbeth's old rooms. It was quite a complex, perfect for Daddy Warbuck's little billion dollar babies. The wing also included a bedroom for each of them, which they weren't using yet, as they still slept together in the nursery; individual oversized bathrooms, dressing rooms and closets; as well as their own family-media room for when they were old enough to need space to entertain their friends. The wing also included a mini suite for their nanny with a nice sized bedroom, a small kitchenette, a large bathroom and a small living room.

We walked into our private kitchen where the girls were sitting down eating lunch, babbling about their morning adventures. Lucy screamed when she saw me, reaching her chubby little hands out to me to pick her up.

"Aunt Rachel, you came here to play with uncle Jonny and us? We couldn't stay at the church the pixies were sleeping." Lucy babbled. I kissed her on top of her head and then Ray reached her arms out too. I picked her up also, realizing I wouldn't be able to hold both of them at once much longer. Dr. Kelly seemed to feel that time was now and she slid Lucy out of my arms as I picked Ray up. Lucy looked like she'd cry, but when Dr. Kelly gave her a severe look, she quieted, and then started babbling about their ponies. Apparently they were on their way to the stables next to see their ponies. I kissed Ray on her head, and she gave me a big hug and a kiss on the check, and I put her back into her high chair. Then Lucy wanted a kiss, so I kissed her cheek and promised I'd be back to play with them before dinner. Dr. Kelly and I left, walking back to our scooters, and we led them into the elevators. Trent was right; just a few minutes with the girls had grounded and calmed me. Their sweet innocence made me feel hopeful again. Hopeful for our son, as well. I had also needed to see for myself that they were ok. I always worried the craziness of my life would spill over and effect them, but it hadn't done so today.

Once the elevator reached the floor with the labs, Dr. Kelly told me to leave the scooter at the elevator. We sedately walked the rest of the way to her office, where Trent was waiting for me, talking on his phone. He ended the call, and smiled when we walked in. Dr. Kelly excused herself, saying she'd be back in 10 minutes. Trent came over to me, and took my hands and squeezed them. "Did you see the girls?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. I really needed to see their sweet faces. They are so wonderful! You are the luckiest man alive!"

He smiled again, and this time his smile lit up his face, genuine and warm. "I know." He said, putting one hand on my belly, and the other one in my hair as he pulled me to him for a soft kiss. The kiss went from soft to demanding to passionate, as we both forgot everything else in our momentary passion.

We drew apart at the sound of a cough, and Dr. Kelly said, "You know the drill. You can change into the gown and then I'll be right in for the ultrasound. And then we will take some blood and you can be on your way."

Dr. Kelly left the room and I changed into the examining gown, Trent teasing me with lewd faces and suggestions, relieving some of the tension and worry I was feeling.

Dr Kelly returned and ran the ultrasound. The baby looked like a bean with arms and legs. Both Trent and the doctor seemed happy with the pictures, so I was, too. After the ultrasound I went back to the apartments for a nap.

I was woken up by warm kisses on my checks and forehead. Trent was sitting next to me, stoking my back and kissing my face.

"Our conference call with Ceri's doctors is at 4:00 pm, in about 15 minutes. If you'd like to keep sleeping..." He said.

"No, I'll get up. Can you get me an orange juice?" I'd found that orange juice would give me a shot of energy like caffeine, but it wasn't bad for the baby. I drank several glasses a day. I missed my coffee, but I was finding substitutes. Trent had installed a small refrigerator in our bedroom, that looked like a cabinet on the outside. It was continuously stocked with water, orange juice and a delicious homemade decaf ice tea.

He got me the juice, and sat down next to me on the bed. He looked very serious and a little mad.

"What's wrong, Trent?" I asked him, guessing what was on his mind, but wanting him to say so before I put my foot in my mouth.

He scowled. "You scared me today, at the church. I don't want you to put yourself in danger any more! You are too important to me, to the girls, to your family, everyone! And it's not just about the baby, but about you. I couldn't go on if something happened to you! I love you so much, more everyday. You are in my heart, in my soul!" He dropped his head onto my shoulder and I was worried he might cry.

But then he got mad. "You are compromised by the baby! You are more tired! It's scientific fact, I am not making this up! And it'll get worse as you go forward in the pregnancy. And with our baby being unique we really don't know what other side effects there will be. Yes, I worry about the baby. But I worry about you more. You are my soul mate, there will never be anyone else for me. Please start taking care of yourself! Don't put yourself in danger! After the baby is born if you want to go back to being a runner I'll try to support you. But not now. For me, please." He kissed me softly on my eyelids, cheeks, nose, chin, and mouth. He was pushing those buttons again.

"I'll try. I love you too. No, I mean I love you like that, like you are the only one for me, you always have been, you always will be. You are it for me, too. I love you more every time you do something to show me the man you really are, but also when you annoy me, or tease me, or argue with me. I love everything about you, you elf! Sometimes it hurts me I love you so much. It scares me, too, because if I lost you, I'd be lost. So, yes, I'll try to stay away from trouble, as best I can." I told Trent, as my tears started to fall.

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me gently on the lips, and then I returned his embrace. He leaned his head into my hair and very said very softly, "Thank you, my love." We just stayed holding onto each other for the next several minutes.

"Is that why you didn't meet the helicopter when we landed? I mean, I know you are super busy with all the businesses, but I was surprised, that's all. No biggie." I asked him.

"Maybe. Yes. I was so mad at you I was afraid I'd yell at you and scare the pilots. It's hard to find good pilots!" He teased me.

He got up then and kissed me on top of my head.

"I'll be right outside in the living room. I'm using my laptop to connect. Just come in and sit next to me when you are ready." Trent said as he left the room.

I got up and tried to run a brush through my hair. I couldn't, so I just put a scrunchy in it, and walked into the living room, drinking my orange juice.

Trent was on the couch and he scooted over to give me more room to sit next to him. I scowled, I wasn't that fat, I was only 3 months pregnant! He smirked at my scowl, and when I sat next to him, he pulled me close to him and kissed me and pulled the scrunchy out of my hair so he could run his fingers through it. When I tried to put the scrunchy back in, he pulled it out again and whispered. "Leave your hair down. It looks incredible."

"I don't want to scare Ceri's doctor!" I told him.

"You won't, you look beautiful."

I left it down! Who was I to argue?


End file.
